I exit the mansion with Ik Nal riding upon my back and the large crowd following behind us. It’s dark as soon as we exit the mansion, but a few light fairies fly above us to light our way. I get about four feet or so out the door before we’re attacked by about twenty-or-so trolls. The trolls quickly scramble away when they see our huge host, all bearing water cups, mugs or bowls. Ik Nal whispers,
“The troll-spawning murk is about five miles from here, straight through those trees.”
He points to two dead trees that are standing upright and I start making my way towards the dead trees.
Everyone is laden with something to pour into the murk should we live long enough to get the chance. I hope with all my heart that destroying the murk will not kill Ik Nal as well, but in my heart, I feel as though it will. Ignoring these thoughts, I pass through the dead trees followed by the crowd, battling trolls left and right. As we get closer to the murk, the trolls get thicker and thicker.
Soon we’re outmatched and battling for our very breath.
“Gole, Ik Nal sees the murk!” Ik Nal cries from my back as I tiredly beat down another six trolls.
“Can you get to it?” I ask, as I can’t see the murk in the gloom, and he trembles slightly.
“Yes. Ik Nal can reach it. Ik Nal will end this.” He says and I feel him slide off my back.
I watch him disappear into the gloom carrying a bucket of water, but I’m too exhausted to say anything in reply. After what feels like an eternity, the ground trembles slightly and the fighting stops. Everyone pauses to feel the ground shake, including the trolls, who cry out in dismay and flee. But even as they flee, sunlight begins to pour into the gloom, and their very bodies begin to dissolve as they run away.
My exhaustion evaporates and I race off in the direction Ik Nal had gone.
“Ik Nal!” I shout as I look around wildly for the little troll and I finally find him, standing beside a pit, watching in amazement as his limbs begin to dissolve into a sparkling powder.
“Oh, Ik Nal, no.” I gasp and Ik Nal smiles at me even as he fades away.
“It will be alright Gole. Ik Nal has had a good life now. Ik Nal has found something no other troll ever found- friends. Not goodbye, Gole, just ‘see you later’.” As he talks, Ik Nal fades away until all that is left is his voice still hanging on the wind.
“Later…” I hear the wind whisper and I feel a lump form in my throat.
“I-It’s really over?” A beautiful, elegant woman asks as she comes beside me and I nod.
“Yes. Ik Nal saved us all at the cost of his own life.”
The woman looks at me thoughtfully and then smiles,
“You made his life enjoyable, from what I can tell.”
With a heavy heart, I look at the pit and see that it is filled with water.
“He was an amazing little creature.”
“I will stay here as a monument to him. I am a nymph; therefore, I can shapeshift into a spiderweb tree to mark the place where a hero stood.”
With this said, the woman steps where Ik Nal stood only moments ago and slowly transforms into a breathtakingly intricate tree with white leaves and silver bark.
“Thank you. He would be deeply honored if he could see you now.” I say and the woman begins to sing a beautiful song, and I know the melody will stay with me forever, although it has no words.
More creatures surround us and soon, all that remains of the two hundred of our original crowd is standing around us, maybe seventy or so creatures. They stand in silence, listening to the nymph’s song and as I watch, green grass starts to grow out of the ground. I close my eyes as I feel the warmth of the sunlight touch me and in my mind’s eye, I’m back in the Thick Woods surrounding the alterna town I grew up in. My twin sister, Jarle, stands beside me on my left, young Trouse sits on my back, and Ik Nal stands on my right.
“Never forget that we all have to die sometime.” Jarle says in her sweet, soft voice, and Trouse hugs my neck.
“But also don’t forget that our memories will stay with you forever.”
“Not goodbye, just ‘see you later’.” Ik Nal smiles and when I open my eyes, they’re gone.